Netanyahu's 'gift' of Palestinian statehood
http://972mag.com/netanyahus-gift-of-palestinian-statehood/89350/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated one of the most problematic views that he and his government hold — that any future Palestinian state, if there ever is one, will be a painful, albeit generous gift from him to the Palestinian people.
Responding to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s intent to accede to 15 international treaties and conventions, Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting: “[The Palestinians] will achieve a state only by direct negotiations, not by empty statements and not by unilateral moves.”
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First is the way Netanyahu views Palestinian foreign policy. If the wrong way to join treaties is “unilaterally,” then it holds that he believes such moves should be made multi- or bi-laterally, i.e., with Israel’s consent. In other words, the Palestinians need Israel’s permission in order to conduct their own foreign policy.
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That fallacious worldview is directly related to Netanyahu’s second, more seriously flawed assertion — that the Palestinians can only achieve statehood through negotiations with Israel.
